


Breathe

by eravicis



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:41:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28253316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eravicis/pseuds/eravicis
Summary: Haurchefant spends some much-needed downtime with his Warrior of Light.
Relationships: Haurchefant Greystone/Koharu Buhen (Warrior of Light), Haurchefant Greystone/Warrior of Light
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	Breathe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Merunari](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merunari/gifts).



> A self-indulgent fic with a friend's WoL. There's not really a plot? Maybe??? But, I love them so I wanted to give this to them as luffs. 💙 This is completely in line with me and my friend's WoL's verses so read if you like to but otherwise, yeah! Thank you and enjoy it if you do end up reading. c:
> 
> Additional tags will be added as I go!

It's not as if she wanted to spend time-fighting battles that weren't hers. She runs a hand down her face, wearily looking to the blade she loathes to pick up. Too much pain, she knows, and she picks up the astrometer to maybe heal away her own hurt.

It's cold here, she notes with a shiver as her feet crunch on the snow that blankets the region. Puffs of smoke follow her when she makes her way to a place called Camp Dragonhead. She isn't sure what to expect from the person who runs it, but they said that the Knight who runs it is kind.

She didn't expect to be greeted with a grin — warm, kind, and shockingly endearing.

But she's wary. She's here for a purpose, and it's not to make friends with such a closed-off group of people. But the more he asks of her in exchange for the help she requires for the Scions, the more she finds her heart not listening to her. Koharu Buhen, the little Raen far from home, finds herself enamored by the tall Elezen man.

The first time she finds herself alone with the Elezen is in between a mission she's running to help Alphinaud with, and she tries to warm herself by the fire. She hasn't been warm since she arrived, and no matter how much time she spends by the fire, she doesn't warm up like she expects to. Most of the guards rotate through shifts, leaving her alone with Haurchefant as he pours over the documents that decorate all over the desk. Her tail curls underneath her, wrapped around her thigh when she rubs her arms.

She's watching the fire, watching it dance with a pensive expression. She recollects the time here and how bone-chilling it is. While she's never been anywhere quite as chilly as Coerthas is, it's perhaps the first time she's seen snow. To find a way to Cid's airship is something else —taxing maybe, but Koharu isn't inclined on complaining.

At least, here, the room is warm and warm enough to comfort her without feeling too stuffy.

"Lady Koharu," he murmurs close to her cheek as she starts, turning her head in his direction to find him peering down at her with an inquisitive smile. "I'm afraid you didn't hear me when I called you —apologies if I've startled you."

Koharu shakes her head, feeling the faintest warmth heat her cheeks in embarrassment. How unlike her to be startled by something like Haurchefant's voice. However, she inwardly huffs at how her heart is in her throat, skipping a beat at his proximity.

It's a childish notion, she swears, and that her feelings are trivial and that she finds him appealing.

The very thought is enough to make her warm.

With a small smile, she asks, "It's alright, but did you need something?" She rises to stand but stops when Haurchefant lifts his hand to stop her.

"No, nothing like that, but I was wondering if you would like to have some hot chocolate."

Her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Hot chocolate?"

"Ah, it's either that or a drink, but with how urgently Sir Alphinaud might have need of you, I dare say that something sweet and warm would be of better comfort to you than something like a drink. I'm afraid I don't have any of the Ishgardian tea as we're currently waiting on supplies."

Tea sounded nice if Koharu is truthful, but something sweet is something she can never quite deny herself.

"Would hot chocolate be alright?"

With another small smile, she nods, and her lips part when he beams, lighting up like the sun on a clear day.

She watches him leave, humming a tune she's never heard before as he disappears behind a door to what she can only assume is the kitchen. Still left alone with her thoughts for the moment, she clenches a hand at her chest in thought, trying to will her heart from beating so quickly for the Ishgardian Knight. Dropping her hand a moment later, she returns to sitting down, turning back to the fire in contemplation, wondering if it is indeed childish of her for having such feelings in the wake of her responsibilities that she needs to fulfill.

The door opens, and he's soon beside her once more, holding out to her a tankard. The air heavy with the smell of cocoa as the steam wafts in her direction. She finds herself salivating for a taste, its subtle sweetness curious.

Delicate hands brush by his hands, and once he's certain she has a firm grip, he lets go, and he takes his warmth with it. Not quite the same as the tankard, she notes, but still, she hides her pout behind, lifting the drink to her lips, sniffing and blowing on it.

She doesn't deserve it. She doesn't deserve him or his kindness. And she certainly doesn't deserve his warmth.

The drink is as delicious as Haurchefant promised, finding it warming her insides and her heart in a way that she finds comforting.

"Better?" he asks after several minutes of silence.

Oh, he's pulled a chair to sit beside her.

She nods, taking another sip. It's different from her preferred sweet, but it's delicious, and she isn't sure why. After all, she's had this sort of drink before, but this time, it seems different than the other drinks. It's only when the drink is about halfway finished that she looks at him over the lip of her cup.

He's comfortable in how he sits, leaned back as the chair allows him, his armor clinking together whenever he moves. Haurchefant is looking down at his drink, looking deep in thought while he takes another sip. Looking at how comfortable he appears to be, she faintly smiles.

For a group of people that would have otherwise turned her away, Haurchefant is a refreshing change of pace. He even sets his own pace that she's unable to help herself from falling into it. The needs of others always came before his own, and his consideration of the other knights endeared him to the people under his command. Soon enough, his kindness had spread to the other knights that they were quick to open up to her once Haurchefant vouched for her and Alphinaud.

Haurchefant is compassionate and warm, and Koharu finds that she no longer feels cold.


End file.
